To be able to break on the ball and cover ground, the safety’s positioning is vital. Thomas has mastered this. Against a three verticals concept from a trips look, the safety must read the #2 receiver and #3 receiver, while staying aware of the #1 receiver. Knowing that the linebackers are expecting to pass these routes off to the three-deep coverage, the free safety – once he has registered all of the receivers going deep – must have gained enough depth and must stay in between #2 and #3.

It was this which Thompson failed to do on a sunny Los Angeles evening. Perhaps he was lacking sharpness in the game, as it was his first at the NFL level. He did not gain enough depth in his drop, which was partially caused by his slow backpedal. Furthermore, he dropped at a bad angle. To be able to be in position to play the ball – particularly with his4.60 forty – he needed to be about 7 yards deeper and roughly 3 yards to the left.

Los Angeles was in a shotgun, empty formation with 10 personnel on the field (1 tight end and 4 wide receivers). Seattle showed and ran a Cover 3, with the backside corner in a hybrid man / deep third-zone coverage.

A positive sign on this play for the future of the Legion of Boom was thelook-in bail technique successfully executed by rookie and potential starter Shaquill Griffin (#26) at the top of the screen. He ‘looked-in’, reading the quarterback as he bailed into his deep third zone while being ready to jump from the #1 receiver to the #2 receiver’s seam route.

Offseason addition linebacker Terence Garvin (#52) also did an excellent job playing his hook zone, picking up the deep crossing route from #3 receiver Travis Benjamin (#12) and passing it off to where Thompson should have been. As it was, Thompson was unable to create the required angle to break effectively on the route, and QB Kellen Clemens (#10) was left with a simple lofted 75-yard touchdown pass. Simply put, the threat of the #2 receiver’s seam route was too distracting to Thompson. As head coach Pete Carroll said“we misplayed the play”.

The Chargers’ attack was targeting the weaknesses of the Cover 3 system with their route combination. Yet this is something that excellent free safety play can deal with, as Earl Thomas has frequently established. Thompson has been provided with a valuable lesson on the importance of location, angles, and awareness as a play develops in the faster NFL. It is just one of the many aspects that a rookie free safety must learn in order to succeed in the Seattle-style Cover 3.

Matty currently attends the University of East Anglia, England. When he's not studying history, he coaches defensive backs at the UEA Pirates whilst also scouting their upcoming opponent. He has an unhealthy obsession with planning semi-realistic football trips to America.